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Post subject: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:38 pm
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I have the chance to trade for a 1955 fender tweed bassman. the power transformer as well as all of the capacitors have been replaced. the other transformer is original as well as the speakers, which were re coned. the tweed is original as well. the guy wants my guitar which is worth around 2000, plus a 1000 cash. do you think i should pull the trigger on this one? i mean its a fender bassman. let me know.

the guitar im trading is a 1982, 52 reissue fender telecaster. its a fullerton made tele all original and original tweed case.


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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:11 am
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When you say "all of the capacitors have been changed" do you mean all of the caps or merely the filter condensers?

Much of the 5D6's remarkable mojo came from the original Ajax and Mallory caps within the signal chain. Replacing those is bound to cause some sonic effect -- and not necessarily for the better. Have you played the amp? If so, how does it sound?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:56 am
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Exactly what Arjay said...we can get too caught up in all the vintage mystique just like the comment you made,"I mean it's a Fender Bassman"...the sound these amps are noted for exists with many of the original examples ,change those components and unfortunately you just have an old amp that sounds different.
People have made a fortune selling "vintage" gear,not all vintage guitars and amps are spectacular sounding....I guess what we are getting at is,don't let the deciding factor in your trade be the fact that it's a "classic",judge what it's worth to you by the sound...and if it was a clean,original example of a tweed Bassman,you wouldn't be getting it for $3,000.


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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 6:17 am
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yea basically everything has been replaced. mallory and ajax. i did play the amp though and i thought it was the sweetest sounding amps i had ever played. i actually did not know that the caps were replaced until after i played it. heres a picture of the new caps if that is even the right ones that were replaced.

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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:24 am
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Well,not many of the old amps are in pristine condition,it really boils down to what you want to do,you already like the sound,that's the main thing....Arjay will know more of what it's worth,my guess would be over $2000 depending on how it looks and any other replacement parts that could be there.
I guess if it looks really good I would say the guitar and offer $500 cash.....but it's hard to say that without looking at it in person.


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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:08 am
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Hard to judge going by the thumbnail pic but it does look like quality work on its face. And you've played the amp and discovered there is still "mojo" within. Thus, let's talk some turkey about value and market price. Likely, this amp -- in this condition -- would fetch $2750 to $3250 on Ebay or similar re-sale venues. If your re-issue Tele is worth two large, you might add some "sauce for the goose, Mr. Savak" via $750 to $1000 in negotiable currency. If the owner balks you can leverage your position by citing the non-original components and any other obvious anomalies with the amp.

Best of luck, HTH, JMO, YMMV, KDTTAH, etc etc etc

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:13 pm
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You should ask the seller why the power tranny was replaced. And was the output tranny (the heart of this amp's tone) also replaced.

But Hell... if it sounds good to you, that's all that matters. Unless you are thinking of selling the bad boy, down the road.


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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:42 pm
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Indeed, the output tranny is critical for that traditional 5F6 vibe.

You should be looking for a paper-wrapped Triad marked with the part number "45249".

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:23 pm
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so did you make the trade?

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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:51 am
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I'm sort of curious myself. I would've like to have seen more pics.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:01 pm
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sorry guys. didn't make the trade. he backed out plus shipping to him was like 400 bucks or driving 6 hours. i figured id stick to my tele and 1000 bucks.


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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:25 pm
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From the photo, it seems that the Bassman for sale was one of those few type that used parallel 5U4GA rectifiers. From my understanding, to get full power from the rectifier (which is way over engineered for powering only two 6L6GA's and three gain stage tubes)... you needed matched 5U4's.

But, I've heard ppl used to pull one rectifier---to get more sag. Plug in both for stiff bass and better headroom. Very wide range of tone. And NOS 5U4GA are still available, at reasonable cost.

http://www.webphix.com/schematic%20heav ... _schem.pdf

An aside, dig this guy's stash of tubes... :mrgreen:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ONE-5U4GA-5U4-GA-tu ... 3cb0c37d38


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Post subject: Re: 1955 tweed Fender Bassman trade pickle im in
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:05 pm
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Geez, that looks like my Dad's tube stash!

:shock:

Arjay

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